What Is Battle of Laon

What Is Battle of Laon

Battle of Laon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Laon (9–10 March 1814) was the victory of Blücher's Prussian army over Napoleon's French army near Laon.

An Allied coalition attempted to complete the destruction of Napoleon's French Empire in 1814. France had been defeated in Russia in 1812 and in Central Europe in 1813. Napoleon's French Empire was now fighting for its survival.

In the last week of February 1814, about a month after the start of the Allied invasion, Blücher seized the initiative and advanced on Paris with his forces. Napoleon's two marshals in the immediate vicinity, Édouard Mortier and Auguste Marmont, were covering the city with two detached corps, but they only had 10,000 men and would be unable to hold out against Blücher's larger force.[5] Napoleon hurried westwards to their rescue with around 30,000 troops, hoping to trap Blücher against the Marne river.[5]

Blücher unsuccessfully attacked Marmont and Mortier along the Ourcq river in late February and early March and ordered a retreat north to regroup when he heard of Napoleon's advance. Prussian troops crossed the swollen Aisne river and arrived at Soissons on 4 March. There they linked up with reinforcements that brought Blücher's total force to 100,000.[6] On 7 March, a clash ensued at the Battle of Craonne as Napoleon attacked westwards along the Chemin des Dames (literally, the "ladies' path"). Blücher's outflanking maneuver did not materialize in time and the Prussians were forced to withdraw towards Laon.

Battlefield

Blücher chose to fight at Laon because it was an important road junction with a superb defensive position. Laon was located on a flat-topped hill with steep slopes that rose 330 feet above the surrounding area. The countryside to the north was flat and open, but the south contained rough and wooded terrain that made military maneuvers difficult. The villages of Ardon and Semilly at the foot of the hill served as good bastions for the Prussian and Russian forces.[2]

Preparations

Blücher now had about 90,000 troops and 176 guns.[2] Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow's Prussian corps was assigned the defense of Laon itself. Blücher's western wing was covered by a Russian corps under Ferdinand von Wintzingerode while the eastern wing was defended by two Prussian corps under Generals Yorck and Kleist. Two Russian corps under Generals Langeron and Osten-Sacken stood in reserve. After Craonne, Napoleon had taken the bulk of his forces northeastwards towards Laon while detaching about 10,000 troops under Marmont to advance on Laon via the Berry-au-Bac road.

Battle

Preliminary fighting on the evening of 8 March saw the French vanguard chase off a small Russian detachment from the village of Urcel on the Soissons road. In the early hours of 9 March, the French renewed their push along the road. At 5:30 a.m., French dragoons arrived in front of Laon, but had lost the element of surprise and withdrew under heavy fire. From 7:00 a.m. onwards, the French repeatedly attacked the Allied positions at Ardon and Semilly. Some troops from the Young Guard even reached the top of the hill before being driven back.

Blücher was suffering from a fever and could not direct affairs as closely as he was accustomed during previous engagements. By 11:00 a.m., however, the fog had lifted and the Allied command staff had a clear view of the battlefield below. Blücher, (because of poor intelligence sources), was operating under the impression that the French had 90,000 troops and was generally reluctant to have his troops launch any attacks.[2] The Allies might have scored a decisive victory had they launched a full attack against Napoleon's 30,000 men, but the uncertainty about the situation led Blücher to commit only Winzingerode's corps against Napoleon's left flank. Winzigerode's attacks were feeble and easily repulsed by the French.

Blücher now decided to isolate Napoleon's western forces from Marmont's column to the east. A convincing Allied attack captured the village of Ardon, but the victorious Prussian infantry brigade was ordered to halt because Blücher feared that French forces to the east would outflank them. Renewed French assaults late in the evening of the 9th led to the capture of Clacy, a village on Blücher's western flank. By the end of the first day of fighting, however, Laon still remained in Allied hands.

Meanwhile, at around 5:00 p.m. on 9 March, Marmont's troops had attacked the village of Athies and driven off the Prussian advanced units. Marmont then sent 1,000 men under Colonel Fabvier westerwards to establish contact with Napoleon's main army.[7] Blücher and Gneisenau (Blücher's chief-of-staff), heard the fighting to the east and ordered a powerful counter-attack with two corps. The Allies slammed into Marmont's troops and drove them back. Marmont was saved by Colonel Charles Nicolas Fabvier, who returned on his own initiative with 1,000 troops to clear the road, and by 125 veterans of the Old Guard, who repelled the Allied cavalry trying to block the French from escaping. Marmont had taken a bad beating, losing 3,500 men and 45 guns.[8]

At midnight on the 10th, Blücher decided on a bold outflanking maneuver intended to crush the French. He was even more ill on the 10th (Gneisenau was effectively in command), but the army still defended Laon. A few more French attacks throughout the day produced no results, and Napoleon retired his forces late at night.

Aftermath

This setback did not by itself spell the end for Napoleon. Just a few days later the French crushed an isolated enemy corps at Rheims. Blücher's Army of Silesia remained inactive for a week after the victory. Nevertheless, the Allied stand had prevented Napoleon from driving them further north. The Allies were still in a position to advance on Paris, which they did at the end of March.

References

Notes

1. Jump up^ Uffindell, p. 203.

2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Uffindell, p. 201.

3. Jump up^ Uffindell, p. 207.

4. Jump up^ Chandler, p. 991.

5. ^ Jump up to:a b Uffindell, p. 198.

6. Jump up^ Uffindell, p. 200.

7. Jump up^ Uffindell, p. 205.

8. Jump up^ Uffindell, p. 206.

source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Laon

The Scorch Trials

The Scorch Trials

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Scorch Trials is the second book – preceded by the 2009 novel The Maze Runner – in a young-adult dystopian science fiction trilogy by James Dashner. The novel was published October 5, 2010 by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House. On October 11, 2013, it was reported that Fox had acquired the rights to The Scorch Trials. The film will be released on September 18th, 2015.[1]

Plot

The book starts in the middle of the night when Thomas wakes up and cannot get back to sleep. He calls Teresa's name telepathically. After a while, Thomas finally falls asleep, then Thomas has a "dream vision" of his mom and dad.Teresa calls out to him telepathically, but cannot seem to get Thomas's attention. He wakes up to seeing everyone panicking about Cranks, people infected with the Flare, outside their door. Thomas and the rest of the Gladers go around to investigate, and find that the room in which they'd eaten pizza with the people who rescued them is locked. 

They ram the door down and turn on the lights to find the bodies of their rescuers hanging from the ceiling. They enter Teresa's room, which is empty except for a boy named Aris, who's from Group B. He can also talk telepathically and even had a telepathy partner named Rachel, who was killed just like Gally had killed Chuck in the first book. Outside of the room is a plaque that says "Teresa Agnes. Group A, Subject A1. The Betrayer." An alarm, similar to the one on the Glade, goes off and the room door locks until the alarm stops. Thomas opens the door to find no dead bodies. Even the plaque is changed to "Aris Jones, Group B, Subject B1. The Partner."

Next they find a man sitting in the middle of the next room who they call Rat Man. He tells them they are to make their way through the Scorch, a burned out section of the land. As an incentive, they've all caught the Flare and will receive a cure when they reach their destination. Shortly after he leaves, the Gladers discover tattoos on the back of their necks: Newt's says he's "The Glue", Minho's says "The Leader", and Thomas' says 'To be killed by Group B". 

The Gladers enter a Flat Trans and wander through darkness for about an hour, when they hear strange whispers. Two boys get killed by molten steel balls that cover then decapitate their victims before they roll away. Winston gets attacked too, but Thomas manages to save him. They enter the Scorch, eventually come to a building in which they had heard screaming. Teresa exits the building, and Thomas senses a trap when he approaches her. Teresa is crying, telling him to get away from her. She kisses him and tells him to tell the Gladers to get as far away from her as possible.

Thomas and the Gladers hike towards a city to stock back up on supplies, along the way, he has another "memory dream" where Teresa and Thomas practice talking telepathically. A storm soon hits, killing off seven boys, including Winston. They stay inside a building when a Crank named Jorge welcomes them into the Crank House. Minho insults him and Jorge kicks him twice in a place where he was burnt from getting struck by lightning. Minho attacks Jorge and all the Cranks from upstairs come down. Fortunately, Thomas negotiates a deal with Jorge, keeping the Gladers from getting killed. Thomas meets Brenda, who becomes very forward when he first meets her. They go downstairs and eat, when the roof collapses, separating Thomas and Brenda from the others.

The two of them walk through the Underneath and fight some Cranks. Eventually, they make it onto the surface and sleep in a truck. Thomas wakes up from a nightmare and goes back to sleep. He has another dream memory where he and Teresa are listening in on a conversation between WICKED employees. Thomas wakes up again and sees words printed on a brick saying "Thomas, you're the real leader." They leave the car and are forced into a club by a few strangers. They dance to the music and are forced to swallow drinks that make them feel dizzy. Brenda tries to kiss Thomas, but he says "You're not...her." and "You could never be her."

They wake up in a dark room with the 4 strangers who took them to the club. They are about to kill them when Minho and the other Gladers save them. While fleeing the strangers, a man that Thomas calls "Blondie" shoots Thomas in the left shoulder with a rusty bullet, giving him an infection. After the Gladers fail to heal Thomas, WICKED goes down and gets him in a machine called a Berg. While being healed, he overhears one of the worker's conversations in which a woman stated that he wasn't supposed to get shot. He's taken back to where he came from, and he explains everything to the Gladers.

Later, Thomas hears Teresa's voice in his head, warning him that something terrible will happen, leaving him hurt and scared. And he had to trust her no matter what. She pauses and says that he won't hear from her for a while until they're back together. Newt and Thomas talk about how WICKED only made an exception for him and no one else. They see Teresa and Group B walking towards Group A with weapons. She hits Thomas multiple times with the butt of her spear and drags him back to their base. Thomas is fed once they get there and falls asleep, having another memory dream. The next morning the girls decided not to kill him. Thomas and the girls get about 7 miles away from the "safe haven" when Teresa motions for Thomas to follow her.

Aris appears and holds a knife to Thomas's back and leads him into a cave. Thomas sees a glowing green door, which he thinks could mean that there is radioactive substance inside. Teresa reveals that she and Aris had a relationship both before and during the Maze and the Scorch Trials. She also said that she manipulated Thomas to escape the Maze. Teresa holds Aris and kiss right in front of Thomas who felt betrayed. Betrayal and anger overpower Thomas' feelings towards Teresa. They lead him through the door and into a gas chamber. Thomas attacks Aris and Teresa, but does not succeed. Gas is then released and Thomas passes out. 

While knocked out, Thomas has another dream of one of his memories about being sent into the Swipe, then into the Maze. Thomas wakes up, and then the gas chamber opens. Aris and Teresa then enter and begin to explain everything and how their betrayal was not real. Teresa apologizes, but Thomas still won't trust her. He takes his chances and joins them both as they run to catch up with the other groups, as they only have a few hours until they must be at the safe haven. Teresa explains along the way that her telepathy with Thomas was "cut off" when WICKED came into her room and told her to tell Aris that they had to get Thomas to the point that he feels totally betrayed by them, and if they did anything against WICKED, Thomas dies. They kiss near a valley, but Thomas feels nothing, clearly indicating that their relationship will not be the same from there on.

They make it to the safe haven, but monsters with bulbs all over their bodies appear out of strange pods and start engaging both groups and then they begin to fight. Three people die in the fight. The Berg comes back and picks up the Gladers. A guard on it gets angry for them taking Jorge and Brenda with them, forcing Thomas to choose whom to kill. He chooses Brenda, thinking it's a test, but he's wrong. He manages to keep both. They're fed and bathed and all fall asleep. 

Thomas has one more dream where Brenda speaks to him telepathically, saying things are about to get bad. He wakes up in a padded white room. Teresa is telepathically speaking to him, saying the Flare was rooted too deeply in him, and they took him away. Thomas, who feels betrayed, decides not to trust Teresa anymore after all the lies that she had said. Telepathically, he finds courage and tells Teresa, "Teresa. Go away." Words that he could not have said aloud. Teresa agrees and tells him one final thing, "WICKED is good" and stops all telepathy.

Characters

• Thomas: The protagonist, a teenage boy who was a Runner in the Glade. He discovered that he had a part in helping WICKED and building the Maze when he was stung by a griever. He has the ability to speak telepathically with Aris and Teresa. The tattoo on the back of his neck that was given to him by WICKED researchers says, "To be killed by Group B". Thomas struggles with many conflicts throughout the book, such as becoming the real leader, being betrayed by Teresa, and most importantly, SURVIVING THE SCORCH. This causes him to become confused, hurt, and betrayed.

• Newt: An English boy with long blonde hair. He was the leader of the Gladers while in the maze after the former leader Alby died in the first novel. He has a slight limp,and is Thomas's and Minho's friend. The tattoo on the back of his neck designates him as "The Glue".

• Minho: A Korean American boy who was the Keeper of the Runners in the Glade. He is snarky, aggressive, and stubborn which gets him in trouble frequently. He is friends with Newt and Thomas. The tattoo on the back on his neck shows that WICKED intended for him to be "The Leader"

• Brenda: A girl from Canada who has turned almost full crank. Both Jorge and herself help lead the Gladers through the Scorch, but Brenda mostly leads Thomas after they become separated from the rest of the group. She looks up to Jorge as a father.

• Aris Jones: Another boy who was involved with WICKED before the maze. He spent the first novel with Group B. He can speak telepathically with Thomas and Teresa. His best friend - Rachel - was killed when Group B escaped their maze. The tattoo on his neck designates him as "The Partner".

• Teresa Agnes: Thomas's best friend before the Glade. She can speak telepathically with Thomas and Aris. She spends much of the novel with Group B, whom she becomes the leader of. She becomes under control of WICKED at times, which makes it difficult for Thomas to trust her. She was to be known as the "The Betrayer".

• Jorge Gallaparga: A man who presents himself as the leader of the Cranks. He appears to be dangerous and psychotic, yet also humorous. He is a father figure to Brenda.

• Sonya: A past leader of Group B.

• Harriet: A past leader of Group B.

• Rat Man(Dr. Janson): The first researcher to present himself to the group.

• Rachel: She played the same role as Thomas, but in Group B. She was killed as Group B was escaping their maze.

• Frypan: The cook for the Gladers in Group A.

• Winston: The keeper of the Slicers in Group A, responsible for killing the livestock for food.

Film adaptation

The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials

On October 11, 2013, it was reported that Fox had acquired the rights to The Scorch Trials. A screenplay will be written by T.S. Nowlin, with director Wes Ball supervising the scriptwriting.[1] The film will be titled The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials. On July 25, 2014, Ball announced at San Diego Comic-Con International that they want to start shooting in Fall 2014 should its predecessor become a success when it hits the theatres in September 2014; also unveiling a concept image at the conference, which leads us to assume that he will be directing the sequel as well.[2]

However, two weeks prior to the film's release 20th Century Fox decided to move ahead with the sequel and pre-production as well as preping the sets began in early September 2014 in New Mexico. Director Wes Ball is set to return, as are actors Dylan O'Brien, Ki Hong Lee, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Kaya Scodelario. On September 26, 2014, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Aidan Gillen was signed in to play the antagonist, Rat Man in the sequel. On 1st October, 2014, it was announced that Rosa Salazar and Jacob Lofland had signed to play Brenda and Aris Jones, respectively. On 3rd October, 2014, it was announced that Giancarlo Esposito is to play Jorge in the film. Creature designer Ken Barthelmey is designing the creatures for the film.[3]

References

1. Chitwood, Adam (October 11, 2013). "Fox Hires Writer to Start Work on MAZE RUNNER Sequel THE SCORCH TRIALS". Collider. Retrieved October 11, 2013.

2. Sciretta, Peter (July 25, 2014). "The Maze Runner Sequel The Scorch Trials Concept Art Revealed [Comic Con 2014]". slashfilm.com. Retrieved July 26, 2014.

3. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5634815/

Source

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scorch_Trials

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Maze Runner is the first book in a young-adult post-apocalyptic science fiction trilogy of the same name by James Dashner.[1][2] The novel was published on October 6, 2009, by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House, and was made into a 2014 major motion picture by 20th Century Fox. The sequel to the movie, The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials is set to be released on September 18, 2015. The novel spawned two sequels: The Scorch Trials (2010) and The Death Cure (2011).

Dashner also wrote a prequel to The Maze Runner, entitled The Kill Order, that came out in 2012.[3] He also announced that another prequel, The Fever Code, is set to be released in 2016.

Plot

Thomas arrives in a place known as the Glade, left with no memories except his name. He meets other teenage boys called Gladers who have created a community. Each Glader is assigned to a task in different departments headed by a Keeper. Shortly after arrival, Thomas gets a tour by Alby, the oldest and the leader, and some other Gladers.

A gigantic maze surrounds the Glade. Inside, mechanical creatures called Grievers roam it at night. The huge doors into the maze close at sunset and reopen in the morning. Every month supplies are sent, and a new boy arrives in an elevator called, "the Box," It is the same elevator Thomas arrived in. There are also Beetle Blades, mechanical bugs which spy on the Gladers, with "W.C.K.E.D." (World in Castastrophe - Killzone Experiment Department) written on them.

After Thomas arrives, an unconscious girl arrives carrying a note reading, "She's the last one." She is taken to the infirmary to recover from a coma before being questioned. Meanwhile, Thomas learns that the Gladers have unsuccessfully been trying to solve the Maze for two years, and that the antidote to a Griever sting revives small bits of memory. Chuck (a twelve year old boy), and Newt (the Gladers' second-in-command), befriend Thomas. Gladers exploring the Maze are called "Runners." Minho, the Keeper of the Runners, and Alby, the Gladers' leader, search for a dead Griever that Minho found while running the maze the day before. However, the Griever is found to be not dead and it stings Alby. Minho struggles to carry Alby back to the Glade, but as the doors close on them, Thomas runs into the Maze to help.

Hearing approaching Grievers, Minho leaves Thomas with an unconscious Alby. Thomas saves Alby and, finding Minho, tricks pursuing Grievers into falling off "the cliff" (an abyss within the Maze). Minho and Thomas return to the Glade as the doors open the next morning.

As the acting leader, Newt calls a "Gathering" to decide Thomas's fate for entering the Maze without permission. It is decided to make Thomas a Runner after serving one day in "the Slammer" (jail).

The day after, Thomas joins Minho running the Maze. They quickly discover a "Griever Hole" through a cliff, exposing the outside world. He also discovers words covered in vines that say, "World in Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department", assuming that WICKED is the acronym.

After returning to the Glade, Thomas is shocked that the girl speaks telepathically to him. Her name is Teresa, and she says she has triggered an "Ending." Soon afterward, Teresa awakes and befriends Thomas. The same day, the sky turns a dull gray, which Thomas attributes to the Creators of the Glade. That night, the Maze doors remain open, leaving the Gladers unprotected from the Grievers. The Grievers start taking one person each night. Alby also burns down the map room, but Minho and the other Runners had moved all the maps to a secret room. The Gladers align the maps, which spell out words. They have no relation to each other, and the Gladers determine it is a code.

Desperate to retrieve his lost memories, Thomas allows a Griever to sting him. After recovering, Thomas explains that he and Teresa were forced to help the Creators design the Maze. He says he and Teresa share a telepathic link. The way out of the Maze is over a cliff face and that it is an illusion to trick them. This is where the Grievers enter and exit the Maze. By following the Grievers, they can escape by punching the code words into a computer on the other side. Thomas leads the Gladers into the Maze and they confront a small army of Grievers. About half the Gladers die, but Thomas, Teresa, and Chuck escape down the hole and punch in the code and shut down the Maze. A door opens nearby.

The 21 remaining Gladers descend down a spiraling slide that dumps them into a massive underground bunker. There they meet the Creators: thin, pale, joyless adults who take copious notes while observing them from behind glass. A woman greets the Gladers, telling them they have done well. Gally appears and throws a knife at Thomas. Chuck steps in front of it, sacrificing his life to save him. Enraged, Thomas attacks Gally and knocks him unconscious.

Suddenly, a group of gunmen storm the room and shoot the woman and the Creators. The Gladers are taken out of this facility and put into a large bus. As they are boarding, a hideously scarred woman grabs Thomas and tells him that he is here to save everyone from the Flare before the driver runs her over. Thomas and Teresa learn from a rescuer that the world was ravaged after solar flares slammed Earth, killing millions within days, leaving the world a wasteland. A disease known as the Flare now threatens humanity. The group's goal is to stop the tests WICKED is doing, and find the cure for the Flare.

After two hours, the bus stops at a dormitory-like building. Inside, the Gladers find bunk beds with blankets, bathrooms, and food. They finally feel safe. Thomas drifts off to sleep feeling there is hope for the future.

In an epilogue, it is suggested that the apparent rescue of the Gladers is yet another test masterminded by the Creators of the Maze and that the one Thomas escaped is not the only one WICKED have been observing.

Characters

Alby: A boy who is the eldest and the leader of the Gladers, he tries to keep order within the group by having all the boys follow the rules they've set down to survive. He is in a very close relationship with his second in command, Newt. He was in the group of 30 people who first arrived in the glade

Ben: A Builder and good friend of Gally's who was stung by a Griever. He becomes very violent and tries to kill Thomas. He is then banished from the Glade.

Chuck: A young and chubby boy with a curly hair who was the newest Glader until Thomas arrived. He immediately becomes friends with Thomas and acts like a little brother towards him. Around 12 years old.

Clint: One of the two Med-jacks and the keeper of the Med-jacks. He works closely with Jeff healing victims of the Griever's sting with "The Grief Serum".

Deshawn: A minor member of the Gladers who appears to be the group's weapons specialist. He is shown several times sharpening spears.

Frypan: The Gladers' cook and Keeper of the Cooks. He is described as very particular and a very talented cook.

Gally: A Glader who lives by the rules Alby put in place. He does not trust Thomas and shows an immense dislike for him. Keeper of the Builders. Estimated to be around 15 years old. He runs away from the glade and eventually kills Chuck.

Jeff: One of the two Med-jacks. He works closely with Clint healing victims of the Griever's sting with "The Grief Serum".

Minho: The Keeper of the Runners - in charge of navigating and mapping out the Maze. He is very sarcastic, hotheaded and impulsive, but at the same time charming, smart and loyal towards his friends. As a Runner, he's in very good shape and is described as "dark-haired with strong arms." He and Thomas become best friends.

Newt: A tall, strong, smart boy with blond hair and a British accent. He used to be a Runner, but had to quit when he injured his leg a while ago by trying to kill himself by jumping off one of the maze walls. He is very kind, friendly and welcoming to Thomas. He calls Thomas for Tommy and they end up being best friends. He is Alby's closest friend and second-in-command and takes over as leader when Alby no longer feels capable.

Teresa: The only girl to enter the glade, she has black hair, blue eyes and is very beautiful. She is the last person who was put in the glade. She has a telepathic connection with Thomas, and Aris.

Thomas: A teenage boy who wakes up in a lift that takes him to The Glade, he has no memory of his life before except his name. He has a telepathic connection with Teresa and Aris. He has dark hair and is in good shape. He becomes a Runner and runs together with Minho.

Winston: The Keeper of the Slicers - in charge of slaughtering livestock for food. Described to have acne.

Zart: A big, brooding boy and keeper of the Track-hoes who are in charge of farming. Very smart and kind to Thomas. He is often made fun of by the other Gladers.

Development

In late 2005, Dashner had published four books to complete The Jimmy Fincher Saga, which had been with a small regional publisher. His publisher wanted him to write another book, but he decided he would try for a national book market instead. In November of that year he had an idea when going to bed about, "a bunch of teenagers living inside an unsolvable Maze full of hideous creatures, in the future, in a dark, dystopian world. It would be an experiment, to study their minds. Terrible things would be done to them. Awful things. Completely hopeless. Until the victims turn everything on its head."[4] Dashner wrote the book from December 2005 to March 2006.[4]

Reception

Kirkus Reviews wrote, "Hard to put down, this is clearly just a first installment, and it will leave readers dying to find out what comes next".[5]

Jessica Harrison of the Deseret Morning News labeled The Maze Runner as "a thrilling adventurous book for kids ages 13+ that will get readers' hearts pumping and leave them asking for more." She noted that it "starts out a bit slow" but as it matched Thomas's confusion and picked up pace as he became more accustomed, she wrote that "it's almost as if Dashner is easing the reader into what becomes a fast-paced, nonstop action." However, she thought the "only drawback" was the "fictionalized slang" that although it "feels realistic and fits with his characters, it gets old pretty fast. On the plus side, however, it's used so often that the reader almost becomes desensitized and learns to ignore it."[6]

Film adaptation

The Maze Runner 

Fox released a film adaptation of the book, titled The Maze Runner, on September 19, 2014. Wes Ball signed on as director and T.S. Nowlin wrote the screenplay.[7] Dylan O'Brien played the lead role of Thomas,[8] and Thomas Brodie-Sangster portrayed Newt[9] and Kaya Scodelario Teresa,[10] respectively. Ki Hong Lee, Blake Cooper, Will Poulter and Aml Ameen were added to the cast as Minho, Chuck, Gally and Alby. Patricia Clarkson played the role of main antagonist Ava Paige, while Jacob Latimore portrayed Jeff and Randal Cunningham portrayed Clint. Chris Sheffield played Ben and Dexter Darden was Frypan, while Joe Adler portrayed Zart. That was the main cast for The Maze Runner movie, and already a few of the stars for the Scorch Trials movie (the movie to the second book in the series) has recently been announced.

Wayne Haag served as an artist on the film, and Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Lindsay Williams and Lee Stollman as producers.[11]

Creature designer Ken Barthelmey designed the monsters called Grievers for the film.[12]

Filming started on May 13, 2013,[13] and ended July 12, 2013.[14]

References

1.   to:a b Shill, Aaron (November 25, 2009). "'Maze Runner' on 'right track'". Deseret Morning News. Archived from the original on December 19, 2009. Retrieved December 19,2009.

2.  Dig, Enric (September 24, 2014). "The Maze Runner 2014 Full Movie Review". Publishers Weekly. RetrievedSeptember 24, 2014.

3.  "The Kill Order to be published in August 2012" (Press release). New York: Delacorte LShakshahxjdPress. November 21, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.

4.   to:a b Dashner, James (July 16, 2008). "The Tale of The Maze Runner". The Dashner Dude. Retrieved February 5, 2012.

5.  "The Maze Runner". Kirkus Reviews. September 15, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2012.

6.  Harrison, Jessica (October 3, 2009). "'Maze Runner' provides a thrilling adventure". Deseret Morning News. Archived from the original on December 19, 2009. Retrieved December 19, 2009.

7.  Zeitchik, Steven (January 4, 2011). "Young-adult sensation 'The Maze Runner' gets ready to run the movie gantlet (Updated)". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 5,2012.

8.  Wilkinson, Amy (April 18, 2013). "'Maze Runner' Finds Its Thomas". MTV. Retrieved June 28, 2013.

9.  "Movie Casting Round-Up: Thomas Brodie-Sangster Joins ‘Maze Runner’; Scott Glenn Added To ‘Trigger’". deadline.com. Retrieved March 13, 2013.

10.  "Kaya Scodelario Joins The Maze Runner". empireonline.com. Retrieved April 8, 2013.

11.  "We have @jamesdashner The Dashner Dude, then we got @wesball Mr Director Dude and now we have @ankaris Mr Designer Dude!! Good that". Twitter. December 7, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2012.

12.  http://theartofken.com/viewgallery.php?galleryID=the-maze-runner-21

13.  Dashner, James (March 29, 2013). "Much more casting news should be coming very soon. They start filming in May. Release date of September 19, 2014 #dashnerchat".Twitter. Retrieved March 30, 2013.

14.  simg, murphy. "The Maze Runner Review".http://azim.org/movies/422-the-maze-runner. Retrieved15 September 2014.

source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maze_Runner

Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro

Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro Quick Review

Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro: Portable theatre experience -

An Android tablet with a large 13-inch display is unusual enough. But Lenovo goes even further by building a projector into its new Yoga slate.

This large tablet packs an 854 x 480-pixel pico projector. It can project a 50-inch image onto a screen 2m away. But at 50 lumens, it is not as bright as a full-sized projector.

With its "Home Theater Anywhere" tagline, Lenovo wants consumers to see the Yoga as an entertainment device. Reinforcing this argument are the JBL stereo speakers and a subwoofer, which sound good for a tablet.

This tablet holds much promise as a business companion due to the projector. The only stumbling block is that it runs Android instead of Windows. While you can still open and edit PowerPoint slides on Android, it is not as versatile as Windows for work.

The design is largely similar to previous Yoga slates, though with a 13-inch screen, the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro is the largest one yet. Its cylindrical spine holds a beefy 9,600mAh battery and the pico projector.

The integrated kickstand pops out when you press a button at the back. This stand now has a hole in the middle, so you can hang the tablet on a hook. Choose a sturdy hook - the Yoga tablet weighs a hefty 950g.

Its 2,560 x 1,440-pixel screen looks lovely. Colours seem to pop and text is sharp. It is probably the tablet's best feature.

Lenovo has heavily skinned the default Android 4.4 system with an interface reminiscent of Apple's iOS. For instance: the Gallery icon is a doppleganger of the Photos app in iOS 8. The Yoga's default starry sky wallpaper also gave me an iOS flashback.

Unlike stock Android, you swipe from the bottom to bring up the settings. The icons remind me of the ones on iOS. But the interface looks polished and feels responsive.

Like Samsung, Lenovo has created its own multi-window feature to take advantage of the Yoga's expansive 13-inch screen. Up to three apps can run at the same time, each in its own floating and resizeable window.

Touch the multi-window icon on the lower-left corner of the interface to bring up a list of compatible apps. Currently, there are only six apps, including e-mail, video player and the Chrome browser. Overall, this feature feels clunky compared with Samsung's implementation on the Galaxy Note devices.

Using the projector to play a video, the Yoga lasted 6hr 35min. In our usual battery test, the Yoga clocked 8hr 11min.

With a $1,199 price tag for the LTE version, Lenovo should have included more than the measly 32GB of internal storage.

Lenovo's latest tablet is big and pricey. The screen is nice and the projector works surprisingly well. A Windows 8.1 option would be good.

Background story

TECH SPECS

Price: SGD $1,199

Processor: Intel Atom Z3745 (1.86GHz)

RAM: 2GB

Display: 13.3 inches, 2,560 x 1,440 pixels

Camera: 8 megapixels (rear), 1.6 megapixels (front)

Storage: 32GB, microSD expandability up to 64GB

Battery: 9,600mAh

RATING

Features: 5/5

Design: 4/5

Performance: 4/5

Value for money: 3/5

Battery life: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

source : http://www.straitstimes.com/digital-life/tablets/story/lenovo-yoga-tablet-2-pro-portable-theatre-experience-20141121#sthash.VV2Hk8Ub.dpuf

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LG G3 Quick Review

LG G3 Quick Review

LG G3 - The Best Android smartphone in the market

In crafting a new smartphone, the trick is not just to do it better than everyone else, but to do it better where it actually counts.

LG seems to have almost perfected it with its new G3 flagship.

There are no redundant features such as biometric sensors (Apple iPhone 5s), heart-rate monitors (Samsung Galaxy S5) or ultra-pixel cameras (HTC One), backed by some 64-bit architecture or octa-core extravagance.

Instead, users get improvements that most will appreciate and understand, including a Quad High Definition (QHD) screen displaying super sharp 2,560 x 1,440 pixels that also marks a first appearance on a globally available smartphone, a Laser Auto Focus that aids photo taking and other minor upgrades that show that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

The bright QHD screen instantly stands out. This provides more details in the image. The question is whether the human eye can appreciate such a high level of sharpness on a 5.5-inch display?

Probably not. This screen is likely to be even sharper than your PC or TV at home, but on such a small screen, any improvement in image quality is unlikely to be discernible.

Where the difference does matter is in reading text and this is important as your eyes are now staring at the phone screen for longer stretches. Sharper text puts less strain on your eyes. Being able to read without interference from a grainy black background does matter.

The same goes for video. A screen that supports such high-quality video provides a better viewing experience overall.

Users will definitely notice the Auto Laser Focus on the camera.

Autofocus has been a boon to shutterbugs, but the experience, especially on smartphones, is mixed.

Samsung is among the companies that use phase detection focus, which speeds up focusing time.

In LG's case, the laser bounces infrared pulses between the lens and the subject, and it is all done in 0.276 seconds, so LG says. The G3 boasts a one-touch shutter - tap an object on the screen and the phone focuses and snaps the picture.

This tap-and-snap option is also available on other smartphones, but LG's implementation is one of the most dynamic that I have used.

Many phone cams fail in low-light conditions because the autofocus has difficulty in discerning between individuals and the stranger moving behind them, which results in blurry photos.

The laser solves this problem by using infrared signals to determine focus depth, resulting in low-light images that are clearer and sharper.

LG has taken pains to improve this, so in low light, it fares better than the Samsung Galaxy S5. It is also much faster than the overall speed offered by the Sony Xperia Z2.

On well-lit shots, LG puts more importance on details and reduces emphasis on the colours.

Overall, it makes for an impressive 16-megapixel camera and the G3 possibly has the best camera of smartphones in the market today.

Design-wise, LG has managed to fit a 5.5-inch screen into a smaller form factor, with a thin bezel and a curved back that allows you to hold this relatively large phone with ease.

Though its removable rear panel is touted as having a "metallic skin", the rear panel is actually 80 per cent plastic and 20 per cent metal, putting the G3 somewhere between the metal HTC One (M8) and plastic Samsung Galaxy S5.

I did not try to snap the panel in half to test its durability, but I did feel that its use of plastic diminished its overall stature. The good news is that the ridged rear panel is not a magnet for fingerprints and the material did not heat up much despite prolonged use.

In terms of an interface, LG has taken the opposite approach to its competitors by placing Android front and centre, instead of insisting on putting its own resource-draining stamp on the operating system.

Such features as Knock On and Knock Code let users wake up the device with a tap on the screen. This is hardly bloatware. Content Lock stores files on the device behind a password. Careless users will appreciate the Kill Switch, which allows them to disable the device remotely if it has been stolen.

After several experiences with LG phones, the positioning of the power and the volume buttons at the back instead of the side edge now feels "normal" and makes the controls easier to access.

Despite the use of a leading processor, benchmark tests of 22,945 on Quadrant Standard and 31,528 on AnTuTu place the G3 as slightly slower than the leading competitors, even though I tested the 32GB version, which has 3GB of RAM.

To counter the excessive drain on the battery, LG has tweaked the system resources to make the most of it and this is where the battery life test was inconclusive.

Our test loops a 720p video on full brightness, but the G3 automatically dims the screen in video playback, so the almost nine hours of battery life is not reflective of actual use. Using the VLC player, which did not dim the brightness, the battery clocked less than four hours, which is below average battery performance.

sherwinl@sph.com.sg

- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/digital-life/phone/story/lg-g3-the-best-android-smartphone-the-market-20140612#sthash.SeNVBpEB.dpuf

Samsung Galaxy S5 Quick Review

Samsung Galaxy S5 Quick Review

Samsung Galaxy S5: Most power-packed Android device right now
By Sherwin Loh

A Samsung smartphone launch tends to be more exciting than launches of other brands.

On one hand, I know that the company will stuff loads of features into every dTECH SPECSevice, though not all of them may work perfectly and some are not even necessary. A few, like the motion and gesture features, have later been adopted by other brands.

On the other hand, I want to be there when it finally announces that it is junking plastic for more premium materials in its phones.

The latest, the Galaxy S5, still uses a plastic shell, but the added features are finally droolworthy enough to make me overlook the plastic.

It has stuck with the curved corners and the single front button design that is a hallmark of all its flagship Galaxy devices.

While many brands choose to seal their smartphones, making it hard to change your battery, both Samsung and LG have stuck with removable back covers.

On a recent trip to South Korea, I noticed that South Koreans prefer this to using external battery packs, so perhaps this design is more cultural than technological.

Samsung still uses TouchWiz, but it has made changes to this interface so that its presence is more subtle. For instance, its new customisable settings menu lets users create a list of favourites to appear on a drop-down menu, rather than forcing them to comb through the swelling list of features that Google and Samsung have shoehorned into the Android operating system.

Fast to focus

The biggest change is in the camera. The most obvious of the several remarkable changes is in the fast autofocus, which makes it less likely that you will lose any precious moments.

It focuses quickly even at night, producing great-looking pictures. The overall image quality of its 16-megapixel camera is comparable to that of the Sony Xperia Z2's 20.7MP camera, but the Z2 has the edge, with better details.

In low-light images, the S5 matches the Z2 in brightness levels.

Then there is live HDR mode. It takes the same photo under different exposures in quick succession, then merges all of them into one photo to even out light and dark areas, for a more balanced image.

It lets you see the final HDR image on screen before you press the shutter button, so that you can, if you wish, reposition the camera to produce the best lighting results.

Like the competition, Samsung has also included the refocus feature, which takes a photo with varying depths of focus, allowing users to select the focus in the final photo.

Many handset makers have introduced different versions of this feature, but unfortunately, none stands out.

HTC's method turns the unfocused area into an aggressive tilt-shift effect, while LG's use is a one-time thing as users cannot revisit the original picture to change the point of focus later on.

Samsung's Selective Focus does not let you pick a specific focusing point in the photo. Instead, you get to pick a near focus for foreground objects, far focus for background objects, or pan focus for everything to be sharp.

This automatic breakdown of near and far means the software may not detect the objects in the background that are meant to be in focus while the photo is being taken, leading to the camera simply snapping regular photos instead.

While HTC has this refocus feature set by default, Samsung's feature needs to be turned on.

Live HDR and Selective Focus cannot be used at the same time.

Finger activation

A significant addition to the S5 is the biometric sensor. You activate it by swiping a finger (it will store the biometric information for three fingers) downwards over the lozenge-like sensor.

This has to be a two-handed action, whereas for the Apple iPhone 5s, this can be done with one hand as it requires just a finger to be placed over the sensor.

What makes the S5's sensor dangerously useful is that Samsung has tied up with e-payments provider PayPal to enable biometric authorisations. You will not even need a password to be a big spender.

The new heart-rate monitor may be useful to older folks and people who work out frequently, but for most people, it will simply be the garnish on a dish few will bite into.

Samsung has added two terrific new features that will appeal to compulsive downloaders and heavy users of smartphone features.

Download Booster, when enabled, lets users concurrently download files larger than 30MB over 4G and Wi-Fi networks to speed up overall download times. But this applies only to sites without secured download protocols. In other words, not for cloud services such as Dropbox.

It took 20min 10sec to download the latest 130MB Open Office file over 4G. On Wi-Fi, it took 37min 36sec to complete.

With the booster turned on, it took only 12min 4sec. So the time saved is significant.

The other new feature which I like is the Ultra Power Saving mode. Most smartphones, including the Galaxy S5, have a power saving feature that disables mobile data, dims the screen and limits push services.

In Ultra Power Saving mode, the S5 restricts background data and greyscales the display. Because the Super Amoled screen does not use a backlight, all black pixels on display, including text and images, do not draw power.

Ultra mode lowers the brightness to 87 nits, instead of 400 nits, and caps the processor speed at 1.5GHz.

This is supposed to keep the phone running for another 24 hours, and still leave a 10 per cent charge.

Having a greyed-out phone that can handle calls and send SMS messages sure trumps having a super-fast smartphone with a colourful screen - and a flat battery.

In benchmark tests, the S5 clocked an impressive 25,598 on the Quadrant Standard.

The S5 packs some fancy frills, but offers enough useful features to make it the most power-packed Android device in the market so far.
sherwinl@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life on April 16, 2014. 

BACKGROUND STORY

TECH SPECS

Price: $1,068 (Singapore)

Processor: 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801

Display: 5.1-inch Full HD Super Amoled 1,920 x 1,080 (432 pixels per inch)

Camera: 16 megapixels (rear), 2 megapixels (front)

Operating system: Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)

Memory: 32GB, 2GB RAM

Battery: 2,800mAh

RATING

Features 5/5

Design 4/5

Performance 5/5

Battery life 5/5

Overall 5/5

- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/digital-life/phone/story/review-samsung-galaxy-s5-20140421#sthash.tb2qx5Ek.dpuf

Wolfenstein: New order, old rules

Wolfenstein: New order, old rules
BY MATT BERTZ

Twenty-two years after its smashing debut, the godfather of first-person shooters is still piling up Nazi corpses.

Over this impressive span, the Wolfenstein franchise has experienced highs — namely Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Enemy Territory — and a few lows, like the hollow 2009 re-imagining.

To reinvigorate the brand, Bethesda tapped Machine Games, a new studio led by former members of Starbreeze Studios — the ­developer best known for its criminally under-celebrated The Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay.

RAMPAGE: Only after his ­caretakers are shot and killed does Blazkowitz snap out of his vegetative state and start a new ­rampage against the totalitarian regime.

New Order is an amalgamated reimagination featuring a few familiar characters and a new central premise. After a failed attempt to assassinate General Deathshead in 1946, B.J. Blazkowitz suffers a head trauma and spends the next 14 years as a vegetable.

During his absence, the Nazi Wehrmacht conquers the world. Only after his ­caretakers are shot and killed does Blazkowitz snap out of his vegetative state and start a new ­rampage against the totalitarian regime.

Along the 20-hour campaign he joins a colourful resistance group hiding within Berlin, infiltrates a prison to save some old friends, steals some valuable vehicles, and even journeys to the moon to retrieve the nuclear launch codes necessary to wipe the Nazi regime off the map.

The varied environments do an effective job of keeping things fresh, and the varied cast is much more memorable than most first-person shooter campaigns.

Blast from the past

In building its own vision for the brand, Machine Games is hardly forgetting the series’ past. Many homages exist to New Order’s precursors, including the muscular character model for Blazkowitz, using Nazi helmets as icons for armour pickups, secret rooms hidden in each level, and even a “nightmare” dream sequence that lets you play the first level of Wolfenstein 3D.

Traces of Machine Games’ DNA are also evident throughout the game. From the surprisingly varied and satisfyingly ­brutal close-quarters melee takedowns to the quiet moments interspersed between action sequences, New Order shares many ­similarities with the Riddick title.

PAYING HOMAGE: New Order shares many ­similarities with the Riddick title.

The studio also endows Blazkowitz with an internal dialogue to give the character more depth, but these monotone ­philosophical ponderings feel at odds with the wanton brutality he projects through the rest of the game.

The combat is a mash-up of both lineages. You can dual-wield and decapitate enemies with headshots, or take a more measured approach to combat.

Most levels have Nazi commanders ­stationed throughout. Sneaking up and ­performing a stealth takedown prevents them from pulling the alarm once the bullets inevitably start flying, giving cautious players a tactical option. You can also fire from cover, but the cumbersome mechanic makes this the least valuable tool in your arsenal.

The RPG-lite perks system offers some incentive for experimenting with your approach.

Meeting certain requirements, like ­completing a certain amount of stealth ­takedowns or racking up a set body count from cover, unlocks useful upgrades that give you an edge in combat that isn’t necessarily needed thanks to the stunted AI.

Fish in a barrel

New Order offers a wide array of enemies, from traditional soldiers and panzer hounds to monstrous mechs and heavily armored super troops. None of them are very smart.

Their casual approach to patrols makes it easy to run through levels carelessly making stealth takedowns (including on the hounds, which seems highly implausible), and they have the unfortunate habit of running for the furthest cover away from them in the middle of live fire, giving you ample time to line up kill shots.

The final boss fight is the only exceptional challenge, but this battle essentially boils down to classic trial-and-error. If you’re ­looking for a challenge, I strongly suggest you up the difficulty.

FISH IN A BARREL: Scavenging for enigma codes unlocks new challenges to give seasoned players a run for their money.

With no multiplayer modes on offer, Machine Games adds replayability by littering levels with collectibles and introducing an early choice that changes the trajectory of the narrative.

Deciding which of two fellow soldiers lives changes who participates in the resistance, and gives you different alternate navigation routes in levels, but otherwise the game is essentially the same.

Scavenging for enigma codes and cracking them also unlocks new challenges to give seasoned players a run for their money.

Wolfenstein: The New Order is a positive step forward for the series after the last dud.

Machine Games presents a competent shooter with more polish and a better array of characters, but ultimately the game feels more comfortable recompiling ­established conventions than it does striving for innovation. — Game Informer/ McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Wolfenstein: The New Order

(Machine Games/Bethesda Softworks)

First-person shooter for PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Price: US$59.99 

source : http://www.thestar.com.my/Tech/Games/2014/06/02/New-order-old-rules/